The present invention relates to the transport of perishable therapeutics from a storage reservoir to a target site. More specifically the present invention relates to method and apparatus for effectively connecting a reservoir of perishable therapeutic to a lumen that is lined with a material compatible with the perishable therapeutic.
The delivery of therapeutics to a target site in the body of a patient is a task that finds innumerable applications in the practice of modern medicine. In some application the therapeutic may be delivered through a needle and while in others the therapeutic may be delivered though a pump and catheter system. In either of these configuration, as with the many other plausible configurations, the objective is to deliver active therapeutic to a target site such that the therapeutic may cure the infirmities resident at the target site. For some perishable, sensitive or volatile therapeutic, such as certain viruses employed today, a compatibility issue can arise between the therapeutic and the channel or vessel that will transport the therapeutic from its storage vessel to its target site. When compatibility issues do arise between the therapeutic and its surroundings, the therapeutic may lose some or all of its effectiveness and may, upon its arrival at the target site, be partially or completely inert. In certain applications, the therapeutic may lose its effectiveness moments before it is delivered as it passes down and through the delivery lumen of the delivery device simply because the therapeutic has come in contact with a non-compatible material.
Therefore, the environment in which the therapeutic is stored as well as the environment in which the therapeutic must travel can and does affect the potency and effectiveness of certain perishable therapeutics. In order to avoid the risk of deterioration of the potency of perishable therapeutics it is, consequently, advantageous to minimize or eliminate the contact between non-compatible materials and the therapeutic during the delivery of the therapeutic to the target site.
The present invention includes the proper handling of perishable therapeutic. In one embodiment a system for connecting a reservoir of perishable therapeutic with a lumen is provided. This embodiment has a hollow hub having a first end and a second end. The first end of the hollow hub, which contains a bond port, is in fluid communication with the second end of the hollow hub. The second end of the hollow hub in this embodiment may contain a docking groove that is sized to couple a reservoir to it. This embodiment also includes an inner hypo-tube having a proximal tip and an inner lumen. The inner lumen may be lined with a perishable therapeutic compatible lining and may be in fluid communication with the second end of the hub through the proximal tip of the inner hypo-tube. The inner lining and the proximal tip may be configured to shield perishable therapeutic, ejected from the reservoir and present within the second end, from materials that are non-compatible with the therapeutic.
In a second embodiment a method for coupling a reservoir of perishable therapeutic to a lumen lined with a therapeutic compatible lining is provided. This method includes inserting the proximal end of a manifold hypo-tube into a first end of a hub, the hub also having a second end; placing the proximal end of an inner hypo-tube within the proximal end of the manifold hypo-tube and urging the proximal end of the inner hypo-tube through the proximal end of the manifold hypo-tube until the proximal end of the inner hypo-tube comes in contact with a stopping point in the hub. In this second embodiment the tip of the proximal end of the inner hypo-tube may be covered in a therapeutic compatible material and the inner surface of the inner hypo-tube may be covered with a therapeutic compatible lining.